Seeking to grasp what she called a "golden opportunity for rebirth" out of the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco asked the Louisiana legislature last week to embrace a plan that would give the state control of most New Orleans public schools. This article talks about the governor's plan to let the state…

Concern has arisen for the safety of children using the Internet to support their education outside the school context. Inappropriate material such as pornography, inflammatory and racist writings can be accessed both by accident and with deliberate intent to view. Children are also perceived to be at risk from approaches by strangers,…

Foreign-language experts are praising the Department of Education for taking a larger role in promoting the teaching of other languages as part of a proposed Bush administration initiative to bolster national security and the economy. The departments of Defense and State have headed up efforts to increase the teaching of much-needed foreign…

In this article, the authors discuss the advantages of block scheduling and how it can be an effective educational tool when faced with educational challenges. Block schedules can ease the transition from the homelike atmosphere of the elementary school to the departmentalized environment of the high school by reducing the need for constant class…

Over the past three decades, colleges have experienced revolutionary changes, and the enrollment revolution has had a particularly profound impact on 2-year colleges. We describe the new kinds of students who are entering college today and the ways that colleges have begun to adapt. Then, analyzing interviews with students and administrators and a…

This essay review discusses the report of The Task Force on Higher Education and Society (TFHES), convened in 1998 by the World Bank but independently financed and staffed in collaboration with UNESCO and several foundations. "Peril and Promise" marks an historic turning point in the framework for postsecondary educational planning. Rate-of-return…

Rapid advances in information technology are reshaping the learning styles of many students in higher education. Many faculty will find such a shift in instruction difficult, but through professional development they can accommodate neomillennial learning styles to continue teaching effectively as the nature of students evolves. Beyond this…

In spite of the rich variety of natural resources in Nigeria, the country is still very much underdeveloped. Within and outside Nigeria, analysts are of the view that the country clearly has the potential to be prosperous. As Nigeria attempts without much success to pull itself out of the quagmire of underdevelopment, the inevitably persistent…

Do the learning benefits of full-day (versus half-day) kindergarten outweigh the expense of hiring more teachers and adding classroom space? The authors describe planning and implementing a pilot program. The positive outcomes for children-including earlier emergent literacy skills, a more relaxed pace, and easier transition to first grade-lead…

The predictable failure of reform has been a characteristic of education systems for some years. However, the tendency of policy makers to attribute blame for any implementation deficit solely to schools and school systems is somewhat at odds with the historical evidence presented in this article. Through the lens of school development planning,…

This article details the case, "Three High School Graduates in Qingdao v. the Ministry of Education," filed by the plaintiffs to request the court for a ruling. The lawsuit requests that the court should: (1) declare that the 2001 student enrollment plan for national regular higher education institutions prepared by the defendant is an…

This article presents a case study of successful curricular and instructional innovation in Thailand. The innovation involved a curricular program, Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This student-centered curriculum models many of the features highlighted in Thailand's educational reform such as the student-centered learning approach, curriculum…

Media coverage of the worldwide outbreak of avian flu and the potential for a pandemic has resulted in anxiety and consternation among members of the US public. The US President George W. Bush has released the federal pandemic-preparedness plan that calls on communities to coordinate plans with local and state health departments and other…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using concept mapping to promote reflective instructional decision-making among junior level education preservice teachers when planning lessons for elementary and secondary students. The researchers were interested in determining if there was a connection between the use of concept mapping…

Educators should attempt to create a common and solid strategy in preschool educational institutions in order to sufficiently ensure a safe social environment of children. A research examining health and safety issues in Lithuanian preschools was carried out in Klaipeda. The aim of this paper was to analyse the conditions of safe environment…